Country Music and Attractions Draw German Tourists to the United States

Since the late 1950’s, Germans have had a unique love for America’s country music, whether it is the older sounds of Johnny Cash or the more recent Brad Paisley. Most American’s might be surprised by this fascination but if you roam the streets of Germany at night, you may run into a Country music club like Berlin’s American Western Saloon instead of the more common techno or dance scene. Country music stars from America play to sold out stadiums in Germany and Berlin is even the home to the annual Country Music meeting that sees American and European country bands perform covers and original music for three nights.

Because of this fascination of country music, many Germans make sure they leave plenty of time to hit up the country music attractions when visiting the United States. Tennessee is a hot spot for German tourists and the state’s tourism officials don’t pass up the great opportunity to promote their attractions to Germans before they even leave home. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development has been promoting Tennessee country attractions to German travelers for 12 years now by working with a marketing firm in the UK. There are roughly 153,000 European travelers to Tennessee in a year which results in at least $68 million being spent in the state. By the time German’s make it to Tennessee, they are all geared up to see the many sights which include Graceland, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Beale Street, Dollywood, and more.

Stephen founded German Pulse and LGBT Germany out of a passion to introduce Americans to a Germany that goes beyond beer and polka (although with enough beer he has been known to polka it up a bit). He's a coffee addict, lover of wine and good times, a hit in the kitchen and editor of TV commercials. You can follow him on Twitter (@StephenWFuchs) to find out a lot more.